Shobhna Srivastava is a BCBA working in the school setting who also has a background in clinical psychology and mental health. Before becoming a BCBA, Shobhna was a licensed clinical neuropsychologist. As a psychology practitioner, Shobhna was tasked with diagnosing children on the autism spectrum as well as any comorbid disorders. Once she became a mom, she decided to pause and reevaluate her career. Shobhna had always been curious about the rehabilitation of her patients after they were diagnosed, which led her to explore the field of ABA. Today, she works primarily with children who’ve experienced a traumatic brain injury or trauma and the accompanying behavioral challenges.

Shobhna’s background in psychology helps her view her clients from a more comprehensive perspective. It also enables her to pinpoint potential issues with testing and the diagnostic process. We discuss how mental health work and ABA overlap and why it’s important to focus on both. Sometimes traumatic events have a huge impact on behavioral issues and need to be considered. We talk about the caregiver’s burden and why it’s important to address it with families, and the differing needs between older and younger children. Shobhna also shares tips on how to build rapport, suggestions for improvement in the field of ABA, and her favorite go-to resources.

What’s Inside:

• How Shobhna changed her career from a neuropsychologist to a BCBA
• The importance of focusing on a client’s mental health and any past trauma
• Why it’s important to address the caregiver’s burden
• Tips for building rapport and fostering compassionate care

Mentioned In This Episode:
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Michelle Ward is the owner of MW Group and Modern CPA. Michelle is a certified public accountant who handles taxes and small business accounting. She started her firm in 2014 after spending time in a larger, regional firm and began to feel unfulfilled. After five years, Michelle’s company grew, and her husband also joined the firm to become her partner. Last year, they launched Modern CPA online, which provides business education to small business owners. Many practitioners in our field might not have the business support or skills needed to succeed on their own, and through her program, Michelle equips professionals with what they need in terms of accounting, taxes, and more.

Michelle shares some of the challenges she sees with therapists and practitioners who start their own practices. One of the biggest issues they have is not knowing how to file taxes or what expenses to keep track of. She also helps her clients choose the right business structure, which might not always be an LLC. We discuss independent contracting and how to set yourself up for success, which includes analyzing your workload so you can make the profit that you want to make. Michelle shares tips on how to keep track of expenses, how write-offs work, and the pros and cons of being an employee versus an independent contractor. She also provides her recommendations for someone who’s starting a small business when it comes to taxes.

What’s Inside:

• How Michelle founded her companies, MW Group and Modern CPA.
• Common accounting and tax challenges faced by independent contractors and small business owners.
• Tips for those just starting out as a small business owner or independent contractor.

Mentioned In This Episode:
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MW Group
Modern CPA

Jordyn Hargrave is a BCBA and a member of the How To ABA community. She lives outside of St. Louis, Missouri and has been in the field for about seven years. Jordyn started her career as an intern at Western Kentucky University and had a class on behavior modification where she was able to shadow a BCBA. She also did a field experience with the Kelly Autism Program and since then, worked in an in-home setting and an early intervention clinic, and also within a school system as an RBT. Today she still works in a school as a BCBA where she focuses on behavior reduction.

A post that recently came up in our community was about coming up with creative reinforcers and how to share our ideas with others so we’re not always using the same strategies. Jordyn shares some stories from her field experience where she was able to take what was motivating her clients and shifted them to reinforcers that got them closer to their goals. She also shares a personal story about how her life changed after a concussion and a subsequent car accident. Jordyn continued her caseload throughout her recovery, which was difficult, but it helped her further bond with the kids she worked with.

What’s Inside:

• Jordyn’s career journey as a BCBA.
• How to come up with creative reinforcers for clients.
• How an accident impacted Jordyn’s work. 
• Why mentoring first-year BCBAs is so important.

Mentioned In This Episode:
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Jessica Winne is a BCBA who came to us to talk about OBM and performance feedback, which is a topic we want to dive deeper into. Jessica received her master’s degree in behavioral analysis from the University of North Texas and her thesis was on how to give corrective feedback. Towards the end of her program, she took on more of an OBM focus. A lot of people in management positions are prepared for tasks like creating structures and giving feedback, as it’s easy to become more focused on the content and our to-do lists. When we’re thrown into a managerial role, people start looking towards us for feedback and training, which can be confusing without the proper tools and guidance.

Jessica shares why the “feedback sandwich” doesn’t always work, as the learner is going to focus on the negative feedback anyway and doesn’t focus on what to do differently. It’s good practice to prime our learners with expectations so they can perform well and are more receptive to feedback, and the same process should be applied to our staff. Creating a learning environment versus a punishing environment is key as well as providing ample opportunity for trainees to practice so they can implement new skills. We also discuss the role emotions play in receiving feedback, how feedback can make or break a staff culture, and the importance of rapport.

What’s Inside:

• Why the “feedback sandwich” doesn’t work.
• Why it’s important to set proper expectations to set staff up for success.
• The role emotions play in feedback.
• How feedback impacts staff culture.

Mentioned In This Episode:

HowToABA.com/join
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Jess on Facebook
Jess on Instagram
[email protected]

Brenda Eaton is a BCBA, mom, and creator of Grow Your Happy. She has a 27-year-old son on the autism spectrum, which was her inspiration for getting into the field. Prior to becoming a BCBA, Brenda had a career in the fashion industry and spent time in New York before moving back to Pennsylvania where she got her master’s in education at Temple. After her son’s diagnosis, she spent most of her time supporting him and saw that so much more support was needed outside of the traditional ABA and behavioral techniques, especially around building resilience and independence.

Through Grow Your Happy, Brenda focuses on acceptance and commitment training and there’s a lot of cross-over with ABA principles as well. Emotions are important internal events and need to be considered when working with children and clients. Often the behavior is just the tip of the iceberg and there’s a whole lot more underneath. Brenda shares what she would have done differently looking back on her life experience and career as well as improvements needed within the field. She also shares details on her upcoming CU training around acceptance and commitment training, which will be held on October 19th.

What’s Inside:

How Brenda got into the field of ABA and how her son inspired her work.
The importance of emotional regulation in behavioral work.
Info on Brenda’s upcoming acceptance and commitment training (CU).
Advice for new BCBAs.

Mentioned In This Episode:

HowToABA.com/join
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Grow Your Happy
[email protected]

Natalie Todd is a BCBA and school-based behavioral consultant in New York State. She currently works in an elementary school where she helps transition students into the classroom. Collaboration is a big part of Natalie’s day to day and coming up with treatment plans for students is always a team-based approach. Being a BCBA within a school system can be challenging, especially if you’re the only resource. Natalie talks about the importance of scheduling and how things can get thrown off. Training other staff on intervention strategies can help you work through unplanned issues, so they don’t take up half of your day.

Strategizing together with the other professionals within the school system is in the best interest of the students. No one person knows everything, and we can learn and incorporate new perspectives through collaboration. Trauma-informed, compassionate care is one of the biggest trends in the field today, and incorporating it into the school system is key to improving the environment. We talk with Natalie about changes in behavioral analysis and how old techniques are replacing outdated ones. We also discuss parent training and tips to help parents reinforce behavioral changes at home. 

What’s Inside:

• Natalie’s experience as a BCBA within a school system.
• How BCBAs can improve communication and processes within their schools.
• Changes in the field and how old techniques are replacing old ones.
• Parent training tips.

Mentioned In This Episode:
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RUBI Autism Network

Jessie and Sara are the Director of Operations and Clinical Director from Family Beeginnings, where they provide family-focused, solution-based, ABA therapy and consulting. Sara is currently mentoring brand-new BCBA candidates for their hours as well as the other providers within her organization. She’s also responsible for quality assurance and programming, making sure everything runs smoothly for their clients. Jessie began her career as an early intervention teacher and then she became an RBT. Her job as an RBT introduced her to OBM (organizational behavior management), which she fell in love with and now specializes in this area.

Supervision for new BCBAs is something both Jessie and Sara are passionate about. They recently launched a program for candidates looking to gain more real-world experience. We talk about the skills they focus on with BCBA candidates, especially how to communicate with parents and problem-solve with colleagues. Navigating insurance and billing is often not taught in school, so training is key. We also discuss IEP support and why it’s so important to build a bridge between schools and ABA practitioners. Many school districts lack appropriate BCBA expertise and support, and we share ideas on what needs to improve.

What’s Inside:

• What Jessie and Sara focus on when mentoring BCBA candidates.
• The importance of IEP support.
• Advocacy and the need for changes within the school system

Mentioned In This Episode:

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Family Beeginnings

Jamie Salter and Katie Croce are the co-authors of the Self & Match System. Jamie is a trained school psychologist and BCBA and spent time as an administrator in special education. Katie’s a BCBA and has been working as a behavioral analyst since 2006. She’s worked in public and private schools, inpatient hospitals, and in homes. Today, Katie works at a university within the school of education where she teaches applied behavioral analysis to undergraduate and graduate students.

Self & Match is an evidence-based self-monitoring system that’s been manualized. Jamie and Katie noticed that self-monitoring was often left out of a practitioner’s toolbox. They synthesized all of the research on self-monitoring with an accountability component into a format where professionals could pick it up and implement their own system. Here, they walk us through the five core steps of the Self & Match system and why it stands out from other interventions. They also show how to adapt the system to each learner, as it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. We discuss how Jamie and Katie fell in love with self-monitoring, the advantages of the strategy, and more.

On November 8th, Jamie and Katie will be giving a hands-on webinar on self-monitoring, complete with tools you can use to get started right away. Learn more by clicking the link below!

What’s Inside:

• Why self-monitoring should be included in every practitioner’s toolbox.
• The five basic steps of the Self & Match system.
• How to individualize self-monitoring to different learners.
• Information on Jamie & Katie’s upcoming webinar.

Mentioned In This Episode:

HowToABA.com/join
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Self & Match Website
Self & Match on Facebook
Self & Match on Twitter
Self & Match Upcoming Webinar – 11/8

Every ABA professional should be familiar with the four functions of behavior and how to identify them. Here, we cover those four functions, provide real-life examples, and give you tips on what you can do when you encounter each function. Although the functions of behavior are important, they aren’t always intuitive which makes them hard to spot. We can also accidentally reinforce problematic behavior when we’re unsure. 

Through their behavior, our students and clients are communicating something to us, and it’s our job to figure out what that is. To remember the four functions of behavior, we like to use the acronyms EATS or SEAT. The S stands for sensory, or things that are automatically reinforcing. In other words, it’s something that feels good. E stands for escape or avoidance. The A stands for attention, and the trigger is usually a lack thereof. Finally, the T stands for tangible or engaging in behavior because they want something. 

Make sure you check out our free functions of behavior worksheet by clicking the link below.

What’s Inside:

• The four functions of behavior and how to identify them.
• How to identify what’s being communicated through a certain behavior.
• Real-life examples of the functions of behavior.
  
  

Mentioned In This Episode:

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Functions of Behavior Cheat Sheet

As ABA professionals, a big part of our job is to reduce problem behaviors in our clients. Many times, we’re called in as a sort of fairy godmother, expected to make problematic behaviors disappear by waving a magic wand. It’s also common for problematic behavior to only be addressed when looking for an acceptable punishment or consequence, however, that’s not the best approach. Problem behaviors are always telling us something, and it’s our job to get to the root cause. Stressors can come from a lot of places at home and in the classroom, and it’s important to rule out things like medical or environmental issues.

When defining behaviors, it’s important to get as detailed as possible so you can begin tracking them. Data collection is important, but remember, it’s quality over quantity. ABC charts can help as well as partial interval recordings. You don’t have to wait until a client is on the brink of a meltdown to teach good behavior, as often things are too heightened to make the teaching stick. Teaching in a calm environment is much more effective. Changing how we interact with our students can make a huge difference as well. Focusing on their strengths and providing choices sets them up for success so they can work on things as a team.

To get our free frequency graph, click the link below.

What’s Inside:

• Why it’s important to address root causes of problematic behavior and rule out external factors. 
• How to collect data and define problematic behavior.
• How adjustments in your own behavior can set your students up for success.
• Strategies for dealing with problematic behaviors in the moment.

Mentioned In This Episode:

HowToABA.com/join
How to ABA on YouTube
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Free Frequency Graph Template